Stealing Spree

“Why is this place so dilapidated, aren’t you going to renovate this?” Itou, who was actually a hotel manager, commented as soon as her eyes scanned the entrance hall.

Although she was just feeling guilty earlier, it looked like the habit she probably acquired on her managerial job tickled her once she saw the state of this old theater. She didn’t comment about the hot pot restaurant earlier since she was fairly satisfied as to how simplistic it was.

But for this old theater house, no matter how one looked at it, this place was truly exuding a near-archaic vibe.

However, this was actually the reason why I picked this.

Himeko, who was not good with crowds, wouldn't be troubled by other customers here. Because the films showing here were all old films and only a handful of patrons still went here, this place was great for those who wanted privacy or those who just wanted silent places.

Naturally, I didn’t think about that kind of privacy that couples needed. I was purely thinking if Himeko would be comfortable at the place.

Even if this looked old, I could still remember the one time I went here with one of my targets back in middle school.

Upon hearing Itou’s voice, instead of being angry, the old man actually laughed. “I used to get that comment before. Oh, how I missed young ones coming to this theater house and nitpicking every detail. I’m old now and the business isn’t that good, can you forgive me for this theater’s poor appearance? I assure you. You will have a great experience watching any of these movies inside.”

The old man’s tone sounded like a businessman introducing his totally useless product as if it’s a godly panacea.

Either way, Himeko’s interest was actually piqued by that kind of sales talk. I noted that I shouldn’t let her face the salesmen at the door or she would buy every useless thing they would present her.

“That’s not a reason to not present this place of yours this poorly. Look, you should put a decoration here, a big flower vase or something.”

I thought Itou would also accept the old man’s answer but she began shooting off her mouth by suggesting things to him and that put a wry smile on the old man’s lips.

And Itou’s not done yet.

“And these banners. I get it that this is an old theater and you’re featuring old movies. But can’t you at least remove the dust accumulating in them? Besides, it's now hard to see the titles here. Can’t you print new ones?”

“And here. If that popcorn machine is already broken, remove it there. Get a glass cabinet instead to display these snacks that are too exposed. This vending machine as well, it’s already rusty. Isn’t it already faulty at times? Call for a replacement.”

This girl… So she’s like this when she’s doing her job, huh? Now I wonder if Mizuki was also like this. Nagging at her subordinates to do this and that.

“Ya-chan…” Himeko called out to her sister.

And upon realizing what she did, Itou pulled up her hood and lowered her head, completely embarrassed as she went behind her sister.

Himeko and I turned to the old man who was silent for some time.

And that’s because his expression this time was that of someone thoroughly in awe of another person. His mouth was in ‘O’ shape as his hands began clapping slowly.

“I… I didn’t think I was neglecting my place this much… Ojou-chan, thank you for enlightening this old man. I’ve never seen such a passionate customer in a while so let me treat you three.”

He was impressed by her, huh?

And due to that, we got a free ticket to the movie we were going to watch. Since Itou was the one who made that possible, I had her choose what to watch… However, she passed that privilege to her sister.

And in the end, Himeko picked a romance movie whose story was based on the novel The Tale of Genji titled The Adventures of Banjo.

It’s like a modern adaptation to it that was close to that certain manga about a college professor using his nephew to experiment and reenact what happened in that novel.

However, since this was somewhat of an old movie, the acting was still subpar and everything about it screams old-fashioned.

I’m not complaining. Just pointing it out.

Well, at this we’re still at the first five minutes of the movie.

We’re now sitting near the front but our surroundings were empty. The other customers were scattered across this wide theater hall. Some were sitting at the back or the forefront.

But one thing was common, everyone wanted privacy among them. And naturally, those at the back were some couples who picked this place as a substitute for a motel to save money…

Well, I don’t know if the owner has some kind of precaution to prevent that kind of thing from happening in this old theater house of his. And that’s not my problem.

I think I have a more pressing problem at the moment.

Because Itou didn’t choose to seat next to her sister. Instead, they took my sides, Itou on the left and Himeko on the right.

Himeko only stared at her sister when she noticed it and acted normally. On the other hand, Itou remained silent.

Fortunately or unfortunately, on both of my hands were the snacks we bought. I was holding them for the two.

At times, Himeko would happily feed me the potato chips she bought.

And in this way, we began focusing on the movie.

Although it’s a romance movie, The Tale of Genji was notorious for its content. It’s about the second son of the emperor who had a romantic relationship with at least 15 women throughout his life including his stepmother. In this film, however, it’s a story of the playboy Banjo who went on a quest to be… manly. He was bullied during his middle school and high school days but when he reached college, he began to change his mindset. Instead of getting bullied, he wanted to become the bully instead.

And there came the first heroine, his stepmother who cares for him like he’s her own son. She’s the only one who was with him during his troubled times. His father was so busy with his work that he had no time to tend to him.

Naturally, Banjo also cared for his stepmother and she valued every lesson he heard from her. However, when he felt the attraction of a man to a woman rising inside him, he left his house and that became the start of his Adventure… or his womanizing adventure.

Well, that’s the content of the first 15 minutes of the film and Himeko was already about to tear up. Her head was on my shoulder while restricting her sobs. As for Itou, she looked somewhat annoyed when Banjo ran away without even bringing his wallet or clothes. She began complaining about how he would even buy his food or change his clothes now that he ran away from home.

In this way, the three of us were slowly getting absorbed with the movie that was entering the phase where Banjo, who was based on Genji, began his romantic adventures.